Washing machine



June 112, 1923. 11,458,235

v; MONTALTO WASHING MACH INE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed'Dec. l8 1920 June 12, 1923. 1,458,235

v. MONTALTO WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 18, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4a I 472 0 f5 &6 33 2/ June 12, 1923. 1,458,235

, v v. MONTALTO WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 18, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet m/m VflMmZaZZa MMZES June 12, 1923.

V. MONTALTO WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 18 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fatented .llune l2, 1-923. I I i UNHTED STATES VITO MONTALTO, F LENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

wnsnme MACHINE.

Application filed December 18,1920. Serial No. 431,575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Vrro MONTALTO, a former subject of Italy (having declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States), residing at Allentown, in the county of Lehigh and btate of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Washing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention described herein and being a continuation in part of my application bearing Serial Number 290,514, dated April 16, 1919, relates to a new and useful improvement in washin machines, and has for its object to provi e means for extracting a lar percentage of the water from the clothes after being washed and elevating them to a point where they may be removed from the washing receptacle without applying the hands thereto.

With these ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth'and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in Which Fig. 1, is a side elevation of my improved washing machine, one side of the casing being removed to clearly show the operating parts within the casing, the pan or washing receptacle and other parts being in section.

Fig. 2, is an elevation taken at riglrt angles to Fig. 1, one end of the casing being removed.

Fig. 3, is a plan view of the machine the cover being removed and a portion of the pan or washing rece tacle broken away to show the mechanism eneath the latter.

Fig. 4, is a fragmentary plan view of my preferred method of transmitting motion to the oscillating shaft.

Fig. 5, is a fragmentary side elevation thereof.

Fig. 6, is a view of a portion of Fig. at right angles thereto.

Fig. 7, is a central, vertical section of the pan or washing receptacle and the mechanism for oscillating the clothes therein, the oscillating shaft being left in section.

Fig. 8, is a section of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 taken at right angles thereto.

Fig. 9, is a sectionat the line.6-6 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 10, is a detail plan View of the lifting board showing the enlarging ring therefor, the latter being partially broken away.

Fig. 11, is a detail, erspective view of the mechanism for elevatlng the lifting board.

Fig. 12, is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the cover in the region of one of the rollers.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, 1 represents a rectangular frame or casing for enclosing the operating parts of my improved washing machine and within this casing is suitably mounted the washing receptacle or pan 2 to which issecured the stuiling box 3, a representing the packing gland adapted to slide within the stufiing box for compressing the packing therein for the usual purpose.

5 represents a hollow shaft which passes through the stuffing box and is mounted upon the oscillating shaft 6 and connected therewith by the cross pin 7 which is secured in the upper end of the hollow shaft and is adapted to enter into en agement with the forked end 8 of said sha t 6.

9 represents a cap fitted over the upper end of the hollow shaft 5 and this cap has formed therein the slots 10 adapted to pass over the projecting ends of the pin 7 as shown in Fig. 8 and thus cause the cap to oscillate with said hollow shaft. With this cap is formed a wide circular flange 11.

A ring 12 loosely surrounds the lower portion of the cap 9, and has secured therein the posts 13, and these posts project through holes 14: formed in the flange 11 in such manner as to slide freely therethrough and the upper ends of these posts are provided withheads 15 for the purpose hereinafter described.

16 represents a bed plate which has an annular recess formed in its underside adapted to fit over the upper end of the cap 9 and this bed plate also has holes 17 formed therethrough for the free passage of the posts 13, the heads 15 of said posts being of sufficient diameter to confine the bed plate upon said posts. The outer diameter of the bed plate may be changed by changing the section 18 thereof which rests upon the flange 11 as showneincFigs. 7 and 10.

From the above description it will be seen that the oscillations of the shaft will be transmitted to the cap and from it to the bed late, the bed plate may be raise-.1 and I owered through the medium of the hollow shaft 5 and when said bed plate is raised the posts will remain stationary until the heads 15 thereof come in contact with the upper surface of the bed plate when thereafter any further movement of the bed plate will ele vate the posts in unison therewith for the purpose hereinafter set forth. 4

The lower end of the shaft 6 is set in a suitable socket 19 and rests upon'the end bearing 20 .of such construction as to reduce the friction at this point. Secured to the lower portion of this shaft 6 is a' crank arm 21 to which a pitman 22 is attached by a universal joint 23, the opposite end-of this pitman being connected by a universal joint 24, to the sprocket wheel 25 which is'carried by the shaft 26 journallel in suitable boxes in the casing and this s rocket wheel 25 is geared b the sprocket c ain 27 to the sprocket whe 28 the latter being mounted upon the crankshaft 29. I

The crank shaft 29 is journalled in the bearings 30 and 31 secured in the casing and one end of this shaft projects through this casing and is squared as indicated at 32 for the reception of acrank handle 33 shown in dotted lines by which the crank may be revolved by hand when occasion requires.

It is usually preferable to operate such a machine as this by foot power, and I therefore provide the treadle 34 which is pivoted at 35 and is connected by the universal joint 36 to the pitman 37 which is in turn connected by the universal joint 38 to the crank 39. The treadle extends outside of the casing through a suitable opening in the side of said casin In orderto bring the crank shaft to the starting point a small hand wheel 49 is fixed to the extremity of the same and can be turned by hand.

In order that the machine may be operated b power a suitable motor 40 such as an e ectric motor is placed within the casing.

the belt 41 running over the drive pulley of the motor and over the pulley 42 carried on the crank shaft 29 transmits power from the motor to said crank shaft to steady the movement of this crank shaft a drive wheel 43 is mounted thereon.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the crank shaft is revolved either by foot power through the treadle 34,

by the motor 40 or by the crank handle 33 the sprocket wheel 25 will be revolved in unison therewith and through the pitman 22 the upright shaft 6 will be oscillated, which oscillations as before described will be transmitted to the bed plate and posts 13.

In order that the bed plate may be raised and lowered for the purpose hereinafter set wound around the drum the block 44 will be elevated and as this block is located immediately beneath the lower end of the 1101-.

low shaft 5 the raisin of the block will elevate said hollow shaft, causin the latter to slide upward through the stu ing box.

A crank handle 52 is attached to the outer end of the shaft 53 which carries the drum 50. and this shaft also carries a ratchet wheel 54 with which the pawl 55 engages so as to prevent the unwinding of the cable from said drum.

. The bracket 56 of the wheel 51 is pivoted as at 57 to permit said wheel to have a to and fro swinging movement to compensate forthe movements of the cable.

The casing is provided with a sliding coverx58. having flanges 59 projecting into suitable grooves in the sides of the casing nearthe top thereof, and having an overhanging flange 60 between which and the cover are journalled the rollers 61 which latter are adapted to travel upon the upper edge of the casing so as to permit said cover to be slid back and forth with but little friction. When closed this cover is substantially vapor tight so as to prevent the steam vapor and odor from the clothes passing into the surrounding atmosphere.

In using my improved washing machine the clothes or other articles to be washed are placed within the pan or receptacle 2 on top of the bed plate and with sufficient amount of hot water containing any desirable washing compound is poured over the clothes and the plate 62 placed upon the top of these clothes which will tend to hold the latter down in place upon the posts 13, now by revolving the crank shaft 29 an oscillating movement will be given to the bed plate as before described, which will cause the clothes to be swung back and forth within the receptacle producing the washing effect, and when this has been continued to a sufficient degree the revolving of the drum 50 in the direction to wind the cable 48 thereon will draw the block '44 upward and with it the hollow shaft 5 which in turn will lift the bed plate carrying the clothes upward therewith and squeezing them against the underside of the plate 62 when the latter comes in contact with the underside of the cover as shown in Fig. 1. This squeezing process will extract a large percentage of the water from the clothes without contamimesses nating the hands of the operator and making it unnecessary to use a clothes wringer.

The clothes may be conveniently removed from the machine by first elevating them and squeezing all the water therefrom possible by the process just described and then drawing the water from the receptacle through the faucet63 after which the clothes may be again lowered sufficiently to remove the plate 62, when by partially opening the cover and again elevating the clothes to approximately a level thereof they may be pushed on to the top of the cover with a paddle or clothes stick. This entirely obviates the necessity of the operator handling the clothes at any time during the washing and wringing process.

By the construction and arrangement of the cable and elevating mechanism for the l hollow shaft the bed plate carrying the clothes mav be elevated from time to time while it ill is being oscillated which will'squeeze the water from the clothes so that the free dirt will be forced therefrom, and the resubmerging of the clothes will permit relatively fresh water to pass in to the clothes. This will facilitate the washing process.

One of the important features of my improved washin machine is the fact that the oscillating per orated bed plate, posts and extension ring can be readily removed from the tank for cleansing purposes and replaced, at once passing into engagement and ady'ustment.

n Figs. 4, 5 and 6 l[ have shown the oscillating shaft 6 with a spur gear 70 thereon with which meshes a rack 71, slidably mounted in a bracket 72 carried by the bearing 19 and this rack is connected to the pitman 22 the balance of the mechanism being constructed as hereinbefore described.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to ihe exact details of construction as herein shown as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is 1. In a washing machine, a stationary receptacle, a bed plate, a hollow shaftsup orting said bed plate, a block sus ende beneath the lower end of the ho low shaft, two pulleys journalled to said block, a cable running over said pulleys and means for taking u and letting out said cable whereby the b ock will be raised and lowered to raise and lower the hollow shaft.

In a washing machine, the combination of a stationary receptacle, a bed plate located within said receptacle, a hollow shaft supheads, and a porting the bed plate and projecting through the bottom of the receptacle, a lifting member located beneath the lower end of the hollow shaft, two pulleys journalled to said lifting member, a shive wheel carried by the frame of the machine, a drum and a cable the ends of which are attached to said drum, said cable passing around the shive wheel and the two pulleys whereby the lifting member ma be raised and lowered to raise and lower t e hollow shaft.

3. A washing machine comprising in combination, a receptacle, means for closing the top thereof, a stuffin box in the bottom of said receptacle, a ho low shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in said stuffing box and having one end projecting into the receptacle and the other end outside thereof, a cap on the upper end of said hollow shaft, a bed plate mounted on said cap, a ring, posts carried by said ring and projecting through the cap and bed plate, heads formed on said posts, means for sliding-the hollow shaft through the stuffing box to elevate the bed plate and then the ring after the bed plate has been raised sufiiciently to engage the post late within the receptacle adapted to be fbrced against the rece tacle by articles on the bed plate when the atter is raised by the elevation of the hollow shaft, for the purpose stated.

a. In a washing machine, the combination of a stationary receptacle, a bed plate located within said receptacle, a shaft supporting said bed plate, a lifting block located beneath the lower end of the shaft, two pulleys journalled to said lifting member, a shive wheel carried by the frame of the machine, a drum, a cable, the ends of which are attached to said drum, said cable passing around the shive wheel and the two pulleys whereb the lifting block may be raised and lowere to raise and lower the shaft, means for revolving the drum and means for holding the same against retrograde movement.

5. In a washing machine, the combination with a clothes receptacle and a cover thereon held against a liftin movement, of a bed plate located within t e receptacle, means to lift said bed plate in a straight vertical direction and another late loosely mounted in the receptacle and adapted to rest on to of the clothes in the receptacle, said other p ate being moved into contact with and arrested by t e receptacle top whereby water will be squeezed from the clothes during the continued upward movement of the bed plate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

VITO MONTALTO. 

